Clipped Wings
by allyouneedislove1797
Summary: Mara had nowhere to turn to, no easy way out of this mess. She wished she could just escape from her problems, fly away like a bird. But he had clipped her wings. Rated T for reasons listed inside. Chapter 5 is up.
1. It's Okay

**Hey guys! It's Love here with another multichapter (I just keep cranking stories out lately, huh?) Anyways this story is going to be really hard for me to write because it's about experiences I've had and are very real and hard to deal with. They are not the same experiences as the ones in Her Journey (it will share a few) but worse if not equally as bad. If anyone you know is dealing with an issue similar to this, I urge you to get them help. Abusive relationships can be deadly.**

**Rated T for: Abuse (physical, emotional and might include sexual), Swearing, Depression, Suicidal thoughts, and Cutting.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own House Of Anubis**

Clipped Wings

Mara sat in the common room, reading her favorite book and eating an apple.

It was a pretty normal Saturday in September. The weather was still considerably warm,so most of Mara's housemates had gone for a picnic outside. Mara had decided not to join them. She had had a fight with Mick the night before and she still wasn't speaking to him.

What made it worse was that the whole house had heard the argument. It started in the middle of supper (in front of everyone) and continued until lights out.

It wasn't even about an important thing. Mara snapped at Mick when he asked her some question, which led to the argument about practically everything they had been keeping from each other. This included Mick's insecurities about Mara liking Jerome, which was brought up when they were still at the table, so everyone heard it.

After Victor announced lights out, Mara had gone to her room and cried silently to herself.

No one had brought up the argument that morning. But you could feel it in the air, the tension between everyone.

Mara went to take a bite out of her apple but it was swept out of her hands. Mara dropped her book and looked up at Jerome with a small smile on her face.

"Jerome!" She exclaimed, raising her eyebrows at him.

He took a big bite out of the apple and then threw it back at her with a smirk on his face.

"Why aren't you at the picnic?" Jerome asked, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"I could ask you the same." Mara countered, nudging his shoulder with hers.

"I'm not at the picnic because you seemed pretty upset last night and then when you didn't show at the picnic, I figured you still were upset." He replied, taking her apple for the second time and taking one bite before returning it.

"You didn't have to do that. I'm fine." Mara said while taking out a hunk of the apple.

"Mara, I know you better than that. If you were fine you wouldn't be here alone, reading-" He picked up the book and raised his eyebrows at her. "_Twilight_?"

"I am fine! And don't hate the book until you read it." Mara said, taking it out of his grasp.

"Mara, this is the series that _Amber_ loves. She's made me and Alfie watch the movies before and they are _terrible_."

"Okay, you're right. It seriously sucks. But I needed some new reading material because Nina borrowed my Harry Potter books." Mara said, putting the book on the table.

Jerome nodded and took the apple a third time, causing Mara to roll her eyes at him.

"Ugh, Mara! You got lip gloss all over this perfectly good apple!" Jerome exclaimed, showing her the pink ring on the side of the fruit.

"Sorry." Mara said through laughter.

Jerome shrugged and bit the apple right on top of the pink. He chewed and thought for a second before speaking. "It tastes like an apple mixed with a cherry."

"That's because it's cherry lip gloss!" Mara giggled.

"Can I see that lip gloss?" Jerome asked, looking serious.

Mara pulled it out of her pocket and gave it to him. Jerome opened it, sniffed it and then put it all over Mara's lips.

"Jerome, you are terrible at applying lip gloss on people." Mara burst out as she wiped off the excess gloss and then laughed.

"I know but it's the effort that counts, right?" Jerome asked.

"Something like that." Mara replied, smiling.

Jerome smiled back at her and then looked at his feet. He took a deep breath and looked back up at Mara.

"Mara, there's something I need to talk about with you. It's really important and I'm not sure how you're going to react."

"What is it?" Mara asked, moving closer to Jerome out of concern.

"Mara! I need to speak with you!" Mick shouted as he stormed into the room, causing Mara and Jerome to jump away from each other.

"I don't want to talk to you, Mick." Mara said coolly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Mara, come on!" Mick said, his temper getting worse.

Mara flinched but stayed where she was on the couch, moving closer to Jerome.

"Look, I'm sorry! Just let me talk to you!" Mick yelled, his face inches from Mara's.

"F-fine." Mara stuttered out and got up from the couch. She shot Jerome a look saying: _I'll be fine_ and followed Mick into his room.

Mick paced around the room, running his hands through his hair. He kicked Fabian's nightstand, causing the lamp to fall off and break.

Mara distanced herself from Mick and attempted to steady her breathing. She had to stop panicking. She knew Mick could get violent when he was really angry. So she made sure there was a good ten feet in between them.

"What were you doing with Clarke?" Mick growled, looking at Mara. His blue eyes had a crazy light to them.

"N-nothing. I was alone, reading my b-book and he came to see if I-I was…okay." Mara said, quietly.

"You're lying! You guys were on a secret date, weren't you?" Mick stepped closer to Mara and threw a textbook off his desk.

"I'm not lying. I-I promise. I would never cheat on you." Mara's lower lip quivered as she said this.

"Why should I believe you? I know you fancy him!" Mick began yelling and his face became red with anger.

"I don't. He's just my friend." Mara backed up against the wall, frightened.

"I can tell your lying, _bitch_! Why are you doing this to me? Do you want to hurt me? Is it fun to play with my emotions?" Mick spat, standing only a few inches away from her now.

"N-no. Why would I want to hurt you?" Mara whispered, stumbling over her words. "I wouldn't want to cause-"

Mick slapped Mara with all his strength, causing her head to smack against the wall.

Mara slipped down to the floor and started sobbing, her body shaking. She never thought Mick would go that far, to physically hurt her.

"Oh my god, Mara. I-I don't know what came over me. I'm so sorry." Mick crouched down beside Mara and pulled her into a bear hug.

Mara didn't want to him to touch her, didn't even want him to look at her but she was afraid he might become violent again. So instead of pushing him away, she stopped crying and whispered to him "_It's okay._"


	2. Everything Will Be Alright

**Hey everyone! Thank you for all the lovely reviews! I try my best to write a good story. I don't know how frequent I can update because these ****are**** things I've been through and it's hard for me.**

**Thank you to my amazing Beta: Bubble of Angst!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own House of Anubis**

Mara woke up the next morning to find a purple bruise forming on her cheek. She went to her vanity and covered it up with make up. Mara didn't want anyone to know that Mick had hurt her. There was no telling how he would react if Mara told someone, but Mara had a feeling it would result in more bruises.

After a few minutes the bruise was covered up as much as possible. Unless you were looking for it, it was very hard to notice.

Mara got dressed quickly and headed downstairs to grab some breakfast.

"Hey, Mara." Mick smiled at her and kissed her cheek right on the bruise. It was a reminder not to mention it to anyone.

Mara flinched a little but held back her tears and gave him a feeble smile. She took her seat at the breakfast table, noticing everyone was present.

"Morning, Mara." Nina said, brightly.

"Morning." Mara said as happily as she could.

She wasn't in the mood to eat much but didn't want anyone to suspect something was wrong, so she put a couple pieces of toast on her plate. She munched on them a little bit but the food was like carpet in her mouth. She gave up on eating and went to go watch TV.

"Mind if I join you?" Jerome asked, sitting next to her on the couch.

Mara gulped and shook her head, not making eye contact. She didn't want to make Mick jealous again.

Mara noticed Mick eyeing them from the table and began to panic. She excused herself and ran up to her room. She cried and cried until she thought there weren't any tears left. But somehow tears still leaked out of her eyes. She took in shallow, shaky breaths and tried to calm herself down.

She finally wiped away her last tears and fixed her makeup that had been washed away by the tears.

A knock came on her door. Mara stiffened, put down her make up brush and answered the door.

"I'm here for my study session." Jerome said smiling at her. Mara had forgotten she was helping him with Biology homework.

"Of course, come in." Mara said, giving him a small smile. He entered and sat on her bed. Mara took out her Biology book from her backpack and then sat on her bed next to Jerome.

After a few minutes of working on genes, Jerome dropped his pencil and turned to Mara.

"Mara, what's wrong? You're acting different." Jerome said, placing a hand on Mara's shoulder. Mara flinched and took in a sharp breath.

"N-nothing's wrong." She stuttered out.

"What's that on your cheek?" Jerome lightly raised his hand to her cheek and grazed the bruise.

Mara winced but gritted her teeth and replied, "It's nothing."

"Is that a bruise?" Jerome asked, tucking her hair behind her ear to get a better look at it.

"N-no. I told you it's nothing. We should really get back to Biology. This weekend's homework was particularly hard. It's going to take us awhile to finish it." Mara replied, changing the topic.

"It _is_ a bruise. How did you get this?" Jerome said in a hushed tone, not dropping the subject.

"I-I tripped over the rug and hit my cheek on my head board." Mara lied and pushed her hair back in front of it.

"Mara, you're a terrible liar. Now, how did you get this bruise?" Jerome moved her hair away again and inspected it closer.

"I told you. I tripped." She held back the rush of tears threatening to spill over and looked at her hands.

"It looks like…Mara; did someone do this to you?" Jerome whispered the last part.

"No. I tripped and hit it." Mara said, her voice breaking at the end of her sentence.

"Who did this to you, Mara?" Jerome took her hands and looked into her eyes, pleading. "Mara, please! Tell me who did this!"

Mara looked up into his eyes and a few tears leaked out.

"It was my fault. I tripped. No one did this to me." Mara repeated her lame lie.

Jerome's eyes went wide as he suddenly understood.

"Did _Mick_ do this to you?" He whispered, his eyes full of sadness and anger.

"I…I tripped." Mara said, wiping away the few stray tears with the crook of her elbow.

"Damn it, Mara! You have to tell me if he did this to you. I want to help you." Jerome said, releasing her hands and putting his palms on his forehead, as if he were stressed.

"It doesn't matter, Jerome. I'm fine. It's just a little bruise." Mara replied, looking at her feet.

"It _does_ matter, Mara. If he's physically harming you, he's not going to stop after this one time. And that bruise is anything but little. It takes up half your cheek!" Jerome insisted.

"The only one hurting me is myself. I just tripped. And it's nothing a little makeup can't cover." Mara said, touching the tender spot on her cheek.

"Mara, again, you suck at lying. Just please tell me if Mick hit you." Jerome said, looking desperate.

"I'm not lying. Please just leave it alone, Jerome." Mara said, shutting her eyes.

"Mara, I just want you to be safe." Jerome said quietly.

"I am, I promise. C-could you go? I don't think I can help you with your homework right now. I've got a headache and I just want to take a nap." Mara whispered.

"Sure. Just… tell me when you want to tell the truth." Jerome gave Mara a quick peck on the forehead and left the room.

Mara pulled her knees up to her chest and whispered to herself, _"Everything will be alright."_


	3. If There's a God Above

**Hello all! I'm back with another chapter. I'm going to warn you, it gets a little intense in this chapter. If at any point you need to stop reading and come back later, I understand. This chapter isn't too bad but some of the later ones' will be very intense and they might be hard for some of you to read. They were certainly hard for me to write. I have the whole story outlined already but I only have up to chapter 5 typed up right now. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own House of Anubis**

A few hours later while Mara was attempting to study for her French exam, another knock came on the door. Mara hesitantly opened it, afraid it would be Jerome insisting for answers again.

"Hey babe." Mick smiled and he entered her room without invitation.

"H-hi." Mara replied, watching him as he crossed the room and sat on her bed. She stayed standing near the door, in case she needed to leave quickly.

"Come sit here with me." Mick said, tapping a spot next to him.

"No, t-that's okay. I'm fine w-where I am." Mara attempted to control her stuttering as she looked around the room. She did not want to make eye contact with him.

"What's wrong with you?" Mick asked loudly, his face twisted up in anger. Mara had never noticed it before, but he was not attractive when he was upset.

"You hit me." Mara said quietly as a few tears slipped down her cheeks.

"How many times do I have to apologize? You said it was okay! I told you I just lost my temper!" Mick shouted, picking up a pillow off her bed and chucking it at her.

Mara flinched and blocked it from hitting her in the face. She dropped the pillow on the floor and took a deep breath.

"I-I know I did. It's just going to take me awhile to be the same around you." She said, choosing her words carefully.

Mick calmed down a little and looked around her room. He noticed the biology homework sheet Jerome had left behind on accident earlier today. He picked it up and read the name out loud off of the paper.

"Jerome Clarke." Mick spat out. "Why was he in your room?"

"I've been helping him with his biology homework. I forgot to cancel with him today, so when he showed up I couldn't turn him away." Mara said, making sure she didn't say anything to anger Mick.

"Why couldn't you?" He asked, his voice rising with his temper.

"Because that would be rude. And he's my… friend." Mara hesitated before using the word friend. She and Jerome were a lot closer than most friends were. She wasn't really sure what to call her relationship with Jerome. They weren't dating but she couldn't deny that there was something between them.

"_Friend_? Mara, last year he went against you in the campaign with Amber after initially helping you. Are you telling me that's what friends do?" Mick countered as he crumpled Jerome's homework into a ball.

"He may have done that, but he didn't cheat for me to win. He didn't…he d-didn't h-h-hit me." Mara said, knowing as soon as the words left her mouth that it was a bad move.

Mick rushed off the bed and pinned her against the wall, holding her shoulder.

"I TOLD YOU I WAS SORRY!" He shouted, shaking her.

"Stop. Please, stop." Mara whispered, closing her eyes.

"YOU THINK I DON'T SEE YOU FLIRTING WITH HIM? YOU DIRTY LITTLE WHORE! I KNOW YOU FANCY HIM! IF YOU HAD A CHOICE YOU'D PICK HIM OVER ME! ADMIT IT, BITCH!" Mick was yelling at the top of his lungs now.

"I don't flirt with him! I would never…I love you, not him." Mara said through sheets of tears.

"BULLSHIT!" Mick shoved Mara to the floor and kicked her rib-cage. A sickening crack was heard, signaling that a rib had been broken.

"P-please stop hurting me." Mara sobbed and pulled her legs in front of her chest to protect herself.

"ADMIT IT!" Mick roared and kicked her again, this time in the ankle.

"Please!" Mara begged.

"ADMIT THAT YOU FANCY HIM!" Mick continued to kick her ankle until it too made a cracking noise.

"I-I don't fancy him. Please!" Mara barely choked out as she continued to cry.

"WHY ARE YOU PLAYING WITH MY EMOTIONS? YOU SLUT!" Mick kicked her one last time and stormed out of the room.

Mara could hear him thundering down the stairs and people asking him what was wrong. After a moment of silence she heard a door slam.

Mara attempted to stand up but moaned in agony as weight was put onto her ankle. She managed to limp over to her bed and lie on her back, so no pressure would be put on her cracked rib. It was hard for her to breathe; the pressure of her lungs against her rib was extremely painful. But she would have to deal until tomorrow, when she could visit the infirmary. She would have some cover story to tell the nurse.

Mara stayed in her room until supper time. Afraid that people would get suspicious, she knew she would have to make an appearance at supper.

Mara limped into the girls' washroom and went to the medicine cabinet. She took a few aspirins and cracked an ice pack. She placed the ice pack around her ankle inside of her boot.

Mara managed to enter the dining room, walking at a slower pace than usual. Other than that, there was no visible sign of Mara's ankle being injured.

"Hey, Mara." Patricia said as Mara took her seat.

"Hi."

"You've been cooped up in our room all day. Something wrong?" She asked while piling salad onto her plate.

Everyone's eyes at the table turned to her. Nina looked curious, Fabian mirrored Nina's look, Amber looked somewhat interested, Mick looked frightened, Patricia looked concerned, Alfie seemed rather bored and Jerome looked expectant.

"Nope. I'm fine." Mara said, giving Patricia a bright smile.

Mick exhaled in relief and turned back to his food.

After supper, Mick asked Mara to come see him in his room. Mara wasn't sure what to do. If she didn't show up, he was sure to be angry and hit her again. If she did show, there was a huge chance he would end up hitting her again, anyways.

Mara finally ended up knocking on Mick's door ten minutes later then she was supposed to.

Fabian opened the door and let out a sigh of relief.

"Mick, you can stop stressing. She's here." Fabian called out to Mick and then whispered to Mara, "He over reacts to everything."

'_If only he knew how true that was.'_ Mara thought to herself.

"I have to go. I promised Nina I would look at the scrapbook Amber has made for us." Fabian said, giving Mara a small smile. He left and ran up the stairs.

Mara entered the room and saw Mick throwing his football at the ceiling. He saw Mara and dropped the ball.

"Mara!" He said, smiling at her.

"Before you can say it, I'm sorry I'm late." Mara said quietly.

"It's okay. I wanted to say that I'm sorry about earlier. I don't know what happens to me sometimes. It's like the anger is all I can think about. I don't even realize what I'm doing until I've done it." Mick said, looking guilty.

"Maybe you should… go to some anger management." Mara replied.

"Maybe. You're not…really badly hurt or anything?" Mick asked.

"No it's nothing bad." Mara lied, afraid to tell him about her injuries.

"Good. I love you." He whispered and then got off his bed and gave her a huge hug.

"I love you, too." She lied again, and hugged him as well as she could with her broken rib.

After a few minutes conversation, Mara left Mick's room to go to sleep. She climbed into bed before Victor could even say his pin drop speech.

Mara looked up at the ceiling and whispered, _"If there's a God above, help me."_


	4. How Much?

**Hello all! This chapter really isn't intense; it's more of a filler. But next chapter will be more action-y and revealing stuff. So you don't have to worry (at least I think you don't) about crying during this one. To everyone who was wondering: yes, I did go through all of this. And I'm just 14 so it was a lot to deal with. This is based loosely off what happened to me but all the abuse (i.e. body parts that were hurt, ways she was abused, thoughts of suicide, ect.) did happen to me. I very much wanted to kill myself. But I'm better now. If you know anyone involved with dating abuse I urge you to call the free hotline: ****1- 866 – 331 - 9474. It's the Love is Respect Organization. It also has advice and facts about it if you are interested on their website: loveisrespect . o r g (It will delete the website if I don't leave random spaces :/ Stupid fanfiction!)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own House of Anubis**

Mara woke up feeling a sharp pain in her chest. She sat up straight and gingerly touched her rib. Blinding pain shot through her. She moved her hand away quickly, but she continued seeing spots.

She slowly got up off of her bed, being careful to not put a lot of weight onto her ankle. She limped around her room, getting dressed into her school uniform. She pulled on her boots, so she could use the ice pack again.

She covered up the bruise on her cheek, which had turned a sickly shade of green. She spent more time covering it today so she wouldn't have anyone else notice it. It was bad enough that Jerome knew it was there.

Mara entered the bathroom and took a few aspirins, cracked a new ice pack, and brushed her teeth.

Mara skipped breakfast that morning and chose to head to school early. She wanted to visit the infirmary before everyone else (especially Mick and Jerome) arrived at school.

The infirmary was a sterile white room. Silver instruments shone under the fluorescent lights, making the room even brighter.

Mara blinked a little as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. The nurse was sitting at her desk, filling out a medical report. Mara timidly stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Can I help you?" The nurse looked up from her file and smiled at Mara. She looked very young, only about 25 or so. Her light brown hair was tied back in a bun and she wore pastel blue scrubs. Her brown eyes examined Mara up and down, looking for her ailment.

"Um, yes Ms…?" Mara trailed off, not knowing the nurses last name. She had never been to the infirmary before.

"Kerry. Mrs. Kerry." She replied.

"Well, I was playing football with my friends yesterday and I fell on my ankle, and my rib took a lot of the force too. I think they might be broken." Mara said, lying smoothly. She had rehearsed her story in her head over and over last night.

"Okay, I'll have a look at them. Name?"

"Mara Jaffray." Mara said quietly, taking a seat on the examining table.

Mrs. Kerry went to the filing cabinet, searched under "J" and brought out Mara's file.

"Mara Isabel Jaffray, born January 14, 1995. Transferred to this school during the summer of 2007. Straight A student. Sound like you?" Mrs. Kerry asked, scanning the page.

"Yeah, that's me." Mara replied, shifting on the table. The paper crinkled underneath her as she moved.

"Okay, let's have a look at your rib first." Mrs. Kerry dropped the file on her desk and came over to Mara. "Lift up your sweater a little. I need to examine the rib."

Mara pulled her sweater and white button down shirt up enough to expose her rib. She winced as the nurse put pressure on each rib individually. She stopped at the third right one and paused.

"This one is broken. It's obvious there's a fracture. However, it doesn't seem to be completely broken in half. That's good, because if it was it could puncture your lungs." Mrs. Kerry said, and then continued. "The others seem fine."

Mara gulped. She figured that the rib was definitely broken.

"Can I see your ankle?" Mrs. Kerry asked.

Mara nodded and lifted up her foot onto the table. She pulled off her boot and unwrapped the ice pack. Her right ankle had swollen considerably, almost twice the size of her undamaged left one.

The nurse tenderly felt at her ankle, checking for cracks.

"Well, I don't think your ankle is broken. It is most likely just sprained. If there is a fracture, it's very small." Mrs. Kerry concluded.

"So, what can I do about them?" Mara asked, biting her lip.

"Unfortunately for your rib, there aren't really any treatments. We could wrap it, but that isn't proven to help heal it. All you can really do is get pain medication for it. I'll fax your doctor and ask them to write out a prescription for you. For your ankle, we could wrap it or if it's hurting really badly you could use crutches."

"I don't think its bad enough for crutches." Mara replied, not wanting her injuries to be obvious to everyone else.

Mrs. Kerry nodded and went back to her desk. She wrote down a few things on Mara's file and then looked back up at her. "You said you got these from playing football?"

"Yes." Mara lied, avoiding her eyes. She could feel Mrs. Kerry's eyes boring into her.

"I'll fax your doctor now. In the mean time, would you like some aspirin?"

"I already took some this morning." Mara tapped her fingers on the table as the nurse put a sheet through the fax machine.

"Okay, they should receive that soon. Let's wrap that ankle for you." Mrs. Kerry said, taking out an ace bandage.

"Do you think we could put the ice pack back on it?" Mara asked, while the nurse wrapped her ankle.

Mrs. Kerry nodded and placed the ice pack on the bandages and then wrapped more around it to hold it in place.

"Okay, you should be good. Now, go before you're late to class."

Mara put her boot back on, grabbed her bag and walked carefully out of the infirmary.

She was actually a few minutes early to class, but all her housemates were already there. Nina and Fabian were sitting at a table, holding hands. Amber was sitting on top of their table while painting her nails a violent shade of pink. Patricia was listening to her mp3 player and sitting next to Amber on the desk. Mick was standing next to Fabian, talking to him animatedly. Alfie was gazing longingly at Amber from the back table. Jerome was sitting next to him, his eyes searching the classroom for Mara.

"Hey guys." Mara said and walked up to Nina and Fabian's table.

"Hi, Mara! Do you think this nail polish is too bright?" Amber asked, holding her hand up to Mara.

Mara squinted her eyes so she could look at the neon color.

"No it's perfect for you, Amber." Mara smiled at her.

"Hey, Mara. Where were you this morning?" Nina asked, smiling up at her.

"I went to Ms. Andrews to ask her something about today's French exam." Mara lied. It seemed she was getting a lot better at that lately.

"Oh, that explains it." Nina replied, and then turned to Fabian to ask him about something.

"Hi, babe." Mick walked over to Mara and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Mara tried her hardest not to flinch. Mick took her hand and led her over to a table.

Mr. Winkler entered the classroom and quieted the kids. Amber scampered off to a table behind Mara and Mick. Patricia sat down next to Amber and turned off her music player.

"Good morning, class. Today's History lesson is about the Counter Reformation, also known as the Catholic Reformation. It started because the Catholic Church began to lose followers after a man named Martin Luther posted The 95 Theses. The 95 Theses were a list of complaints…"

Mara lost her concentration and stopped listening to Mr. Winkler. There was too much on her mind today. She was worried about Jerome telling someone about the bruise. Even though his suspicions had never been truly confirmed by Mara, it was somewhat obvious that he was correct.

Mara sighed and studied her fingernails. Two days ago they had been long and manicured. By now they were bitten down past the skin and her light peach polish was chipped in numerous places.

Mara was almost a completely different person than she was two days ago. She was less happy now; always afraid something was going to come at her. She never used to lie before and now she found herself lying every few minutes.

The bell rang as Mara thought _'How much is this going to change me?'_


	5. Hush Little Baby

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a mega long time since I've updated…I've been busy and I keep getting these great ideas for new stories.**

**Warning: This chapter get's very very intense. Very. It's okay if you can't read all of it, I'll understand. Believe me, it's super hard for me to write about these things I've been through and I know it's hard for you to read them.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own House of Anubis**

Mara let out a loud groan as she entered Anubis House and plopped down in her favorite leather chair. She was the first one home today. She had done this purposely, wanting to avoid contact with Mick.

She had been worrying so much about seeing Mick today that she couldn't concentrate on her French exam. She had most likely failed or, if she was lucky, scraped by with a D.

"Hello, deary. Why the long face?" Trudy asked while she dusted the fireplace mantel.

"I'm pretty sure I failed my French exam. I just couldn't concentrate. We've known about this exam for three weeks and I prepared for at least a fortnight!" Mara said.

"Oh, well I'm sure you can ask Mrs. Andrews if there is any extra credit work." Trudy replied, giving Mara a warm smile and ruffling her hair before leaving the room.

Mara sighed and started off to her bedroom, craving solitude. As she climbed the wooden stairs she wondered if she should try to break it off with Mick. She knew it would cause another violent act but she thought that if she let him down gently it might not be so bad.

No, that was a stupid idea. Mick was sure to be very violent again if he got so worked up about those silly things before.

She opened the door to her bedroom and collapsed on her bed, letting out a huff of relief. She needed this, to be alone with her thoughts and feelings. As scary as it was, it was important for her to figure out what to do about Mick.

Unfortunately the door flew open at that moment, with a solemn Jerome standing on the threshold. "Mara, I need to talk to you."

"You could knock, you know." Mara replied, bitterly pulling herself up into a sitting position.

"May I come in then?" Jerome asked, running a hand through his hair.

This troubled Mara. Jerome only did that when he was stressed. "Yea, sure." Mara said cautiously.

Jerome quickly crossed the room and plopped down next to Mara on the bed. They sat there in silence for a minute before Jerome finally spoke up.

"Mara; you trust me, don't you?" He sounded as if he was choosing his words very carefully. Mara nodded but looked at him with a confused expression.

"So, if something serious was going on you would know that I'm a safe person to go to?" He asked, looking into Mara's eyes with a pleading expression.

"Jerome, what are you getting at?"

"Well, answer my question first, won't you?" Jerome said with a small grin. He playfully nudged Mara in the ribs, not knowing about one being cracked.

Mara let out a gasp of pain and quickly covered her rib with her hands.

"Mara? What's wrong?" Jerome asked in a panicky voice.

"Nothing. You just hit a sensitive part." Mara lied smoothly.

"Mara, you reacted way too much for it to be just a sensitive spot."

"Well, I fell down the stairs this morning. I think I cracked a rib and sprained my ankle." Mara replied, brushing away a few tears that collected in her eyes.

"Mara, you _really_ suck at lying. Tell me the damn truth!" Jerome kept his voice quiet but his tone was urgent. "Did…did _he_ do this to you?"

Mara took in a breath to reply but her door flew open a second time. Mick stood in the doorway, glaring at Jerome.

"I better go." Jerome spoke slowly. He stood up at the same time as Mara. Before leaving he hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, "Remember, you can tell me. Meet me in my room at eight." He left, shutting the door behind him.

"What was all that about?" Mick asked, looking at the pictures hanging on her wall.

There was one of Mara, Patricia, Amber and Nina at the prom last year. Another was a photo strip of Mara and Jerome in a photo booth at the local mall. They had gone their a few weeks ago so Mara could buy a new book by her favorite author. In one of them Jerome had kissed Mara on the cheek right as the camera flashed. The only other picture on there was her and Mick at prom.

"Nothing. He wanted to ask me about what I thought of the French exam."

"When was this?" Mick asked angrily, pointing at the one of her and Jerome.

"A few weeks ago." Mara said, feeling apprehensive. "He insisted I hang it up."

Mick grunted and walked over to Mara. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner tonight."

"I can't. I promised Jerome I would help him with History." Mara said quietly. She looked into Mick's eyes and saw it. As soon as she said Jerome's name something snapped.

"Then cancel! I'm your _boyfriend_." Mick shouted, his temper rising.

"I-I can't. I'm sorry." Mara said, carefully taking a few steps back.

"Why NOT?" He shouted the last word.

"I told you, I-I promised him. I keep my p-promises."

"DO YOU CARE ABOUT HIM MORE THAN YOU CARE ABOUT ME?" Mick was enraged now and he punched the mirror above Mara's dresser.

Glass shattered everywhere and Mara covered her face as shards fell down on her. She was remarkably unscratched, but she had much bigger worries. Mick advanced towards her and pulled back his arm in a fist, ready to punch her.

"Please!" Mara dropped to her knees and pleaded, narrowly missing his fist.

"DO YOU PITY ME? IS THAT WHY YOU'RE STILL WITH ME? I DON'T WANT YOUR PITY!" Mick roared and yanked a fistful of Mara's hair, putting her face in front of his.

"I-I don't…pity you." Mara whispered, looking him boldly in the eye.

"DO YOU LIKE TO TORMENT ME THEN? IS THAT WHY YOU PLAY WITH MY FEELINGS FOR YOU?" Mick kicked one of her knees, causing it to buckle.

Mara fell to the front and let out a gasp of pain. She had landed on her rib. Her eyes filled with tears of terror as Mick yanked her hair again, forcing her to look at him.

"WHY DO YOU HATE ME?" He slapped her with all his force and then turned her face back towards him, expecting an answer.

"I-I don't hate you. I-I l-l-love you." Mara sputtered out. She leaned forward and carefully placed her lips on his.

Mick kissed back hungrily, placing his hands on either side of her face. He tugged at her shirt and began snaking his arms up it.

Mara quickly moved her lips off his. "Mick, stop. I'm not comfortable with this."

He didn't listen however; he pressed his lips back on hers and pulled off her shirt.

Mara was terrified. She tried to push him off her, but he was too strong. She bit, hit and kicked with all her might, but he pinned her down.

"Stop moving." Mick growled, slapping her across the face.

Mara let out a squeal of terror and blinked away her tears. She could do nothing but bear through it. She closed her eyes and imagined herself in a place where she was free of any restraints. A place where she could be truly happy. A place free from _him_.

…

He left her there on the floor, as soon as he got what he wanted from her.

Tears streamed down Mara's face as she lay there, completely naked. She felt used, taken advantage of by a person she had once trusted with her life. But that was awhile ago. She hadn't trusted him since he started hurting her.

Mara was sickened with herself. She had always wanted to save herself for marriage. She had even worn a purity ring since she was 13. Mara looked down at her finger. She pulled off the plain silver band and chucked it to her side. There was no use wearing it anymore. He had taken her virginity along with the rest of her life.

She stood up and grabbed her bathrobe. It was sore for her to walk, but she needed to take a shower. Mara wanted to feel clean again. She knew she couldn't scrub away what he did, but it was worth a try.

The hot water was soothing for Mara. She let a few more tears flow as she washed her body for the fifth time. It didn't matter how hard she cleaned; she still felt taken advantage of.

Mara went to shave her legs and paused. She examined the blade held in her hands. It had a sharp edge to it. It would certainly suffice.

Holding back tears, Mara pressed the blade onto her wrist. She saw the scarlet blood leak down her hand but continued to press it.

When everything was falling around her, this was the one thing she could control. She could make the decision to do this.

Mara pulled the blade away when her vision started to go black. She sang herself a lullaby as she became dizzy.

"Hush little baby don't say a word…"

She fell to the floor with a thud.


	6. Let Me Help You

Darkness.

It enveloped her as she fell, tumbled through nothingness. It had no end, no beginning. She couldn't remember how long she'd been falling through it, but she knew it was a long time.

Silence.

It crept up on her and consumed her. It rang through her ears. Sometimes she thought she heard _their_ voices in it. But when she listened closer all she heard was the quiet. But suddenly-

Light.

It started out small and dim, but it slowly built. Getting brighter and brighter until it seemed too much. She shuddered and peeled her eyelids open.

White swam before her eyes. She blinked quickly as the room came into focus. Mara found herself in a sterile hospital room, gleaming with silver instruments. Sunlight streamed through an open window, and she heard the sounds of cars rushing by.

Mara slowly pulled herself up to sitting position and became aware of the tubes attached to her arm. She could hear the beeping of her heart monitor, which seemed extremely loud after the long period of silence.

The door to her room opened and a tall man entered the room. He had hair the color of mahogany and forest green eyes. His nose was his most defined feature, which stuck out a considerable amount but the rest of him was rather shapeless.

He advanced towards her with a smile on his face. Mara flinched a little but gave him a tentative smile as he stood at the foot of her bed.

"Hello Mara. I'm Dr. Miles Fredrick. The team will be very pleased to see you have woken up."

Mara's eyebrows furrowed and she replied, "W-what do you mean?" Her voice was hoarse and didn't sound like her own.

"Well, you've been unconscious for 3 days." He said. "You don't remember why you're here?"

Mara shook her head and rubbed her temples, trying to coax the memory out of her brain.

"Your house mother, I believe she said her name was Trudy, found you passed out in the shower with severe blood loss. You had very deeply cut yourself with a razor blade."

Mara shuddered after she heard this, the memories flooding back to her. She remembered cutting herself and passing out, but most of all she remembered why she did it. She remembered what _he_ did to her.

"I-I remember." Mara whispered.

"Do you think you could tell me _why_ you did that to yourself?" Dr. Fredrick asked.

"I…I was just so stressed. The school work is so hard at the end of the year, and with being the school representative it got to be so much. My parents expect me to get straight A's and be valedictorian…and it's all too much for me."

His eyes searched hers for a moment and then he looked away with a sad smile.

"Yes, I see. School can be a lot of pressure. We will have to put you on some medication for anxiety and stress, which you will have to take twice a day. Also, we are going to have the nurse check you for any new cuts once a week. You understand of course, that we can't trust you after this." Dr. Fredrick said, while bending down to check her vitals.

"I understand." Mara said, looking at her bandaged wrist.

"Good. You'll have to stay here for a few days, speak to a therapist to make sure you're mentally stable enough to go home. You have a few visitors by the way." He went over to the door and spoke to the people outside of it. "You can come in now, she just woke up."

Mara craned her neck to see who was coming to visit her. She gasped when all of her housemates piled into the room, which Trudy bringing up the rear.

"Mara! Thank goodness you're all right! I thought you might _die_ or something! I started feeling really guilty, because I didn't want you to die without me telling you that I'm not mad at you anymore! I mean, I figured you assumed that but I wanted to make sure you heard me say it and all!" Amber said, talking at about a thousand miles a second.

"Amber! We knew she wasn't going to _die!_" Nina said, giving Amber a look.

Mara smiled and replied, "It's okay, Nina. And I know you're not mad, Amber."

They moved chairs around Mara's bed, and Mick plopped down next to her and grabbed for her hand.

Memories flashed before her eyes; his wrist flicking back to smack her across the face and the violent anger that flashed across his face, distorting his features. She flinched and pulled her hand away. "Sorry, my wrist still hurts a little."

Nina, Patricia, Fabian, Amber and Alfie nodded but Mick gave her a flaming look, knowing the real reason she didn't want to touch him, and Jerome glanced at her and Mick nervously.

"So, how are you feeling?" Patricia asked slowly, trying to break the awkward silence that had fallen over them.

"Pretty good, I suppose. A little tired actually." Mara said, covering her mouth as she yawned halfway through the sentence.

"How can you be tired? You were asleep for three days!" Alfie said loudly.

Patricia glared at him before responding, "She was unconscious not asleep, pea-brain!"

"Righhhht. Sorry, Mara!" Alfie responded.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Me and Nina collected money from everyone to get you these flowers." Fabian said, holding out a beautiful bouquet. It had lilacs, lilies, roses and Mara's favorite; baby's breath.

"Thank you, you guys! They're gorgeous!" Mara took in a breath as she grabbed the bouquet and inhaled its sweet scent.

"So what exactly _did_ happen? Trudy wouldn't tell us." Amber says loudly, looking at Trudy who was standing behind Mick's chair.

"_Amber!_" Nina said, looking shocked.

"What?" Amber asked.

Alfie groaned and hit his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Queen of tact." Jerome muttered under his breath.

Mara took a deep breath and looked around at her house mates. She swallowed and moistened her lips. "Well, the truth is…I was so stressed from school, and the pressure from my parents to be perfect that I…I cut myself. It must've been pretty deep too, because I passed out from blood loss."

A collective gasp washed over the group, and they sat in the silence for a few moments. Jerome caught Mara's eyes for a second and raised his eyebrows. Mara knew he had seen through her excuse.

"Well, you're okay now Mara. They did have to give you some stitches though, apparently you hit a vein." Trudy said, smiling nervously.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea, Mara…" Amber said softly.

"It's okay. You all deserved to know." Mara replied, giving them all a small smile.

They stayed for a few more hours until it was time for dinner. Amber complained about hospital food, so Trudy said she'd take them all home for the night and bring them back in the morning.

"Are you sure you want to come tomorrow? I don't want you all missing too much school." Mara asked.

"No, it's alright Mara! I already cleared it with Mr. Sweet!" Trudy said with a smile.

They all filed out of the room, Jerome at the tail of the group. He looked back at Mara, sorrow glistening in his eyes. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but didn't know how. He whispered it quietly and shut the door behind him.

Mara stared at the ceiling paneling as she held back tears…the tiles shifting as her vision went slightly cross eyed after a while. It was then that she processed what he had said.

"_Let me help you, Love. Please."_

**So…guys, I'm sorry for not updating in 5 months. I've been really busy with my sophomore year, so I'm… sorry. Please don't all hate me. Please, pretty please, review!**


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